This Is My Promise
by Monica121
Summary: How exactly did Gabriella get her necklace back before they preformed Everyday? [My take on what happened during the movie]


Okay, HSM2… Loved it. I don't' care how corny, I don't care that it wasn't AS good as the original. The acting was better, though I don't know, the first one just obviously… had that SPARK. Anyway, I loved it, and I got this idea as I watched it for the fifth time (I DVRed it). How DID Gabriella get her necklace back anyway?

(Also I'm very proud of myself, because no one seems to have done a story like this yet!)

Oh, one last note. I can't exactly remember, since it is 4 AM as I write this, but I do believe that the next scene after Gotta Go My Own Way is the one where Mr. Bolton comes in and says that Troy hasn't come out much in the last few days. So if I'm right, it goes with the timeline I've got. If not, I'll fix it after I get some sleep.

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Okay, so I moped. Maybe just a little. Or a lot.

Honestly though, I don't see how people expected me to act. I had just broken up with my boyfriend of six months. I had quit my job. I had handed him back the necklace that basically proclaimed that I was his. So I moped.

And I don't just mean… you know, get all quiet. That came, but there was more. I didn't come out of my room. I didn't answer my phone. I sobbed into my pillow every single night. For four whole days straight.

My mom even threatened to call the doctor. That didn't go over well. All I will say is that there was lots of yelling. In the end though, I think she understood. I mean, it's not easy losing a guy that you loved as much as I love Troy.

Taylor had called me more than once. Apparently, from what I could gather from her messages, Troy hadn't even bothered talking to any of them. He'd come to work, moped, and supposedly (at least according to Taylor, who had heard from Chad, who had heard from his mom, who had heard from Mrs. Bolton) hadn't come out of his room for anything that wasn't work.

But that hadn't exactly been a comforting thought to me. I was having a hard enough time coming up with reasons to not call at Troy to either yell at him, or cry and beg for him to become the person he used to be without knowing that he was distraught enough to not leave his room.

I wiped my eyes, trying to stop the tears, though I wasn't exactly successful. Sighing, I rolled over on my unmade bed. A distinct ringtone—Breaking Free—suddenly pulled me out of my thoughts. To answer or not to answer: that is the question? And when had I turned off silent mode on my phone?

Sighing again, I picked up my cell, mostly to avoid hearing the song it was playing. A voice yelled into it, "GABI! I'm so glad you picked up!" It was Taylor.

"Hi Taylor," I said, my voice shaking a bit, but I managed not to completely sound like I'm bawling.

"Gabriella, there isn't much time to explain, but listen, I'm going to be at your house in five minutes, you have to answer the door! I can't explain now, but I'll be there soon!"

I heard a _click, _and then Taylor was gone. "Hello?" I said, knowing that she wasn't there. "_Hello?_"

I sighed once more, and set my phone back down on my dresser. It was just then that I caught site of my clock. The little date in the corner told me that tonight was the night of the talent show. The night Troy would sing with Sharpay. I wiped my eyes, glad I wasn't wearing any makeup. My pillows already had enough stains from the first night of the break up. I hadn't been so lucky that day—I had just come from work, and I had had mascara on. I have no clue how I'm ever going to get the black out.

I stood up, and walked over to my mirror, trying to make myself look somewhat presentable. I took down my hair, and put it up again, since most of it had fallen out of the hair tie.

There were dark circles under my eyes, which looked terrible anyway—they were red and swollen. My face itself was really red, but my lips were very pale, probably from biting them so hard.

Basically, I was a mess. As I stood at my mirror contemplating this, my door burst open. It was Taylor.

"Sorry I couldn't explain on the phone!" She said hurriedly. "I was driving like a maniac, and I wanted to stay focused on the road, so I could get here in time! Thank God your mom let me in though, 'cause we're running out of time!"

This was a lot to take in, considering I'd barely spoken to anyone the last few days. I blinked in confusion. "Time? Time for what?" Okay, maybe I was being a little slow, but I honestly didn't know what she was talking about.

"Gabriella!" Taylor shouted excitedly. "He's back! Troy is back!"

Again, I blinked in confusion. Troy hadn't gone anywhere… _unless_ she meant… "What happened?" I asked slowly, trying as hard as I could not to get my hopes up.

Taylor probably was getting frustrated that I didn't exactly get what was going on. "Okay," she breathed, as she steered me to the bed, and sat me down. It was then that I realized I wasn't crying anymore—I had gotten too distracted, apparently. "Let me explain. Today, when Troy came into work, he told Sharpay that he wasn't going to do the talent show with her. Because he didn't like how she treated us, or how he had been treating us. He _gets _it Gabi! He understands what a jerk he was!"

No, that couldn't be right. The scouts, and the scholarship, his parents, the show… that couldn't be right. "…How do you know this?" I asked slowly.

Taylor sighed in frustration. Apparently, she had been expecting to me to just accept everything she was saying. Only… I'd spent so many days convincing myself I was wrong about Troy, it was hard to believe that he had come through. "Okay," she said, "Kelsi was out there practicing, and she heard the entire thing. She said the only time she's heard Sharpay scream that loud is when she found out that her and Ryan had callbacks. Oh!" She exclaimed suddenly. "Speaking of Kelsi." She thrust something into my hands. "You need to learn this."

"Everyday?" I read the top of the music. "A song?"

Taylor looked at her watch, and then at me. "Okay, I'll explain that in a minute. First, you need to go take a shower!"

Not having strength to argue, and trying as hard as I could to convince myself that this was real, I stood up, and gathered my things to shower.

---

A half hour later, I was finished with my shower, and blow drying my hair, when Taylor burst in.

"Okay, okay, perfect. Chad just called me. Everything is going according to plan!"

That made me a bit nervous. I remembered the last time that Taylor and Chad had had a plan… and, well, it almost ruined my relationship with Troy. She must have sensed my nervousness, because she quickly said, "Don't worry, it will be great! We know what we're doing."

I still was a bit uncertain, but I decided to at least hear her out. "Care to share?" I asked weakly.

Taylor quickly nodded and said, "Okay, I'll tell you, but hurry and do your make-up while I do! There's really not a lot of time!" Compliantly, I grabbed my make-up bag, and started working, as Taylor delved into her story. "Okay, so while you were in the shower, I guess Troy continued to ride his epiphany wave. He came in, apologized to the guys, Chad, even Ryan…" She went into this story explaining how he was sincere, and felt terrible. "…and Ryan had even convinced him to sing with Sharpay again." She finished.

That's when I stopped dead. "He's still going to sing with Sharpay?" I asked quietly, not believing that I had just gotten ready so that I could watch Sharpay and Troy sing together.

"No, no, no!" Taylor said quickly, trying to explain. "See, he only _thinks _he's singing with Sharpay. That's where _this _comes in!" Pulling something out of her purse and waving it around excitedly, Taylor looked like she was willing me to understand.

"Stop moving, so I can see what it is!" I exclaimed. She stopped, and I realized what she was holding. The lyrics she had handed me earlier.

Realization was beginning to dawn. Taylor grinned, knowing I was catching on. "Okay, so the plan is…"

---

Minutes later, we were in Taylor's car, speeding as fast as we could without getting caught. Frankly, I was slightly nervous with Taylor behind the wheel, but it was okay in the end. We pulled up to the staff parking lot, and quickly jumped out. I was beginning to feel confident about the plan, and had spent the last fifteen minutes trying to learn the words.

We ran into the kitchens. Chad was waiting for us, among the other wildcats. If I had been skeptical before, all doubt left my mind. If everyone else was willing to forgive him, I knew that they must have had a reason to.

"Hey, glad you could make it," Chad said warmly. We had gotten closer this summer, as friends. I was no longer just Troy's girlfriend, who he was politely distant with, or his girlfriend's best friend, who he had to be nice to. We'd all gone through a lot this summer, and I honestly felt like Chad was almost like a brother to me now.

I managed a smile, trying to ease my nerves. "Me too." I looked around the room. "So we're gonna do the show?" I asked them all. There was an excited rumble that filled the room. "Then let's do this!" I shouted excitedly.

"Wait, one sec, Gabriella," Chad said, putting up a hand. "If we're going to do this, we're going to do this right." I looked at him questioningly, but he simply pulled something out of his pocket. He held it up by the chain, and I gasped. It was my necklace.

"How did you…" I started, in awe.

"I nicked it," Chad said grinning. "Out of Troy's locker. It would seem that he's carried it around with him everywhere he goes these days." He smiled, and handed it to me. "Probably praying that its rightful owner will take it back."

I smiled, and took it from him. I looked at the necklace, and held back tears. This was all so amazing that I couldn't believe it was real! I put the necklace on myself, and clasped it. Finally, I felt like everything had fallen back in place—it was all how it should be.

"Oh, shit!" Chad yelled, quickly grabbing mine and Taylor's hands. "He's going to be out there in a second!"

Every staff member rushed out before me, probably to keep me hidden in the back.

I was out just in time. I heard him, "_Once in a lifetime, means there's no second chance. So I believe that you and me, should grab it while we can."_

I took a deep breath, before turning on the mic. "_Make it last forever…" _I saw him up on stage, suddenly brighten, and look around for me.

After a moment, the staff parted, and let me through.

Troy met me at the stage, and I wanted to cry. He _was_ the boy that I thought he was. He was! That alone, made me feel amazing. He almost kissed me right there, and I almost wish he had, but we continued to sing.

---

When the song ended, and Ryan had been awarded the Star Dazzle, Troy and I _finally_ had a chance to talk. As people filled out of the area, since the show was over, Troy led me over to the side of the stage. We sat down on the stairs, and he looked at me, and took my hand, running his thumb over it.

"Listen, I…" he started. I knew what he was going to say. And surprisingly, I didn't need to hear it.

"Troy, it's okay," I said, squeezing his hand.

"No, it's not," he said sincerely. "I'm sorry I broke my promise. I love you, so, so much, and I never meant to."

"It's okay," I said again. "You're promise is right here, remember?" I asked, reaching up, to touch my necklace.

"Yeah," Troy said slowly, a smile beginning to form. "It's right there." He cupped my face, and leaned in. I could feel his breath on my face, warm and minty. He pressed his lips against mine, slowly, as though we hadn't ever kissed before. It was like the first time all over again. He was unsure, until I opened my mouth, allowing him to delve further into the kiss.

We stayed like that for a moment, before we both pulled away breathlessly. "You're amazing," he said quietly.

"Well, I think you're pretty amazing," I said to him. "I'm glad I've got the old Troy back."

"You'll always have the old Troy," he said softly, as he squeezed my hand. "And I'm glad you were willing to forgive me."

"Always," I said quietly.

"One question though?" He asked.

"Yeah?"

"How did you get your necklace back?" He asked curiously.

"We have some really great friends," I said, before leaning in to kiss him again.

Right before our lips met again, he said, "That we do." I grinned into the kiss, and felt his arms wrap around me. Things were back to normal. I had _my _Troy back. He was still the same person, though hopefully a bit wiser now. And as we kissed, I was reminded just how much I loved him. And if the "T" around my neck was any indication, it was apparent that for now, and hopefully forever, he felt the same way.

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-Sigh- The ending wasn't exactly what I wanted. There didn't seem a natural ending. Oh well. I liked it, because it really bothered me how the necklace kept disappearing and reappearing. But that's another matter. Hope you enjoyed it. If you did, please don't hesitate to review! I'd love to hear your thoughts on the movie, as well as this little story. :)

By the way... if there are any My Dad Taught Me readers reading this... uh, I was -really- disappointed with the reviews from the last chapter, because there were only 3. I've had up to 30 reviews for one chapter before. I'm really not asking for much. Even like seven-ish, and I'd update. But three? That was a tough blow. So if you want an update on that, you might want to go review. It motivates me to write!

Love,  
Monica


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